While women’s volleyball is well known and played across the world, boys’ volleyball has taken an ascent in the past decade. The hype around boys’ volleyball has also spread to the Spartanburg High School with the 2024 boys’ volleyball powderpuff; the girls are coaching and the boys are playing. As each class went head-to-head, trying to win, the tournament was filled with excitement.
Malachi Watts (12) was excited to play in the tournament and being with his friends made everything memorable.
“I enjoyed playing on the team. My favorite part of the tournament was playing the championship game against the freshmen. If I could change anything, I would have consumed more water to prepare,” Watts said.
In each game, teams had 35 minutes to get 25 points to win. To start, the juniors, wearing yellow, and freshmen, wearing purple, played against each other, with the juniors scoring the first point. The juniors kept the lead with the freshmen only one point away from tying their score. Both teams used strategies and tactics to win points. Just after 12 minutes of playing, the freshmen took the lead by 3 points, the score being 18 to 15. Many players made spikes and hits, taught by their peers who are coaching. In the end, the freshmen came out victorious with the score of 25-18.
Madelyn Stephens (12) coached the senior team and is proud of the players of their dedication and hard work.
“I really appreciate coaching the seniors. I had a lot of fun playing and bonding with everyone. My favorite part was seeing them work together to win in the end,” Stephens said. “I also really loved getting to run practices and teach them what the game was really like. I think all the guys had a good time and got to show off their own skills.”
Music played as the sophomores, wearing green, and seniors, wearing pink, warmed up. Both teams huddled with their coaches and entered the game with lots of energy. As parents and students cheered on the players, the seniors took the lead, scoring five points to the sophomores one point. Serves from both teams started rallies that had spectators on the edge of their seats as they watched. Within five minutes of playing, seniors held on to the lead, making the score 14-5. Coaches substituted players in and out of the game to best use the talent on the team. By using blocks at the net and spikes, the seniors won the game, scoring 25 points to the sophomores 12.
Anderson Hanke (12) enjoyed playing with his peers in the tournament.
“I enjoyed playing very much and thought it was fun. My favorite part of the tournament was winning the championship. I wouldn’t do anything differently I thought it was set up well,” Hanke said.
As the final match approached, players danced to music, planned out the next plays, and continued to stay warmed up by serving passes to each other. To win the final match, teams had to win two out of the three sets. Teams set up on the court with much anticipation and showed off their skill when playing. In the first set, both seniors and freshmen kept the score close, but the freshmen won, scoring 25 to the seniors 20. The second set was filled with lots of movement as players would dive to the floor to hit the ball and run to keep the ball on the court. The freshmen fought hard to have another win, but the seniors were triumphant in this set, with the score of 25-21. With teams winning one set each, the final set determined the champions. Players only had to score 15 points in the set. The seniors played with the confidence gained from the last set, which started to discourage the freshmen. After cheers, sprints and sweat, the seniors ultimately won the set with the score of 15-9.
With this first powderpuff competition a success, upcoming matches and battles between the classes are sure to be considered.
